About FOLBR

Friends Of The Lower Blue River

About Us

Summit & Grand counties are known for their ski resorts and summer activities. However, there is another part of Middle Park where the real Coloradoans live: the Lower Blue River Valley. Bordered by the rugged Gore Range to the west and the Williams Fork Mountains to the east, the beautiful Blue River Valley meanders down the Highway 9 corridor, north of Silverthorne, before merging with the powerful Colorado River near Kremmling. The Valley includes unspoiled National Forest, two Wilderness areas, and several private ranches.

Friends of the Lower Blue River is volunteer group of dues paying Summit & Grand County residents, property owners, and other interested parties who share a concern for maintaining the rural character, quality of life, and the environment of the Lower Blue River Valley.

MISSION

To sustain and protect the traditional agricultural character, promote the safety of the residents, livestock and wildlife, and maintain the environmental integrity of the Lower Blue River Valley through education, collaboration and community involvement.

SERVICES

FOLBR functions as a constructive forum on issues important to the Valley through education, communication, and membership participation.

We do so by:

Helping to maintain a reasonable approach to land use, including development, agriculture, open space, and wildlife issues, while supporting the ranching and agricultural lifestyle.

Board Members

John’s unique contribution to the Friends of the Lower Blue River as a Board Director is founded in his educational background in environmental fields such as Oceanography and Landscape Architecture. His studies have helped him to understand the integration of plant ecology, range management, conservation, sustainability and use, in designing functional and beautiful environments. His experience in construction management, landscape design, animal care and management, add up to a wealth of knowledge that he can put to use when serving the landowners of the Middle Park Conservation District.

Jonathan moved to Summit County full-time in 2013. But he’s been coming to the County since the 1970’s. After a 40-year career in broadcasting, he and his wife Susan have settled in Silverthorne. Jonathan is an avid outdoorsman enjoying hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and snow skiing. He is committed to preserving the beauty and wonder of the Blue River Valley for future generations.

Elissa moved to Summit County in 2013 as a District Wildlife Manager (DWM) for CO Parks & Wildlife, (CPW, formerly Division of Wildlife/DOW), after spending several years as a DWM in Grand Junction, Parachute and Rifle. Elissa grew up in the front range foothills and visited Summit County often as a child, learning to ski at Keystone when she was four years old. Her father was an aquatic fisheries biologist for the DOW, and Elissa developed a passion and respect for wildlife and the outdoors at a very young age. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology at Colgate University, followed by a Master’s at Colorado State University, prior to working for CPW.

Elissa currently lives in Summit County with her husband and stepdaughter, and two dogs. She enjoys working and playing outside in the mountains, and her favorite activities include fly-fishing, hunting, snowboarding, rafting, photography and horseback riding. Elissa’s horses currently reside at a ranch in the Lower Blue Valley.

Sharon Sweet was hatched in Southgate, California, and was there for about 3.5 years, then moved to Wichita, KS, then Orlando, FL – stayed in each of those towns for about 5 yrs. Then in 1959, Sharon and her family moved to Denver for about 5 years, then Boulder. Her folks moved on, but Sharon stayed in Colorado.

In the meantime, she had earned her RNBS at Loma Linda University, did a stint in hospital nursing and then landed a job in Occupational Health Nursing. Sharon wrote the exam for Certified Occupational Health Nurse and passed. That is a bit like writing your “boards” all over again. She did that for a bunch of years, then did some medical writing for a bit, before finishing out her career in Family Practice. Sharon retired from Nursing about 10 years ago but continues to use her medical knowledge on a regular basis in her ranch work.

About 10 years ago, Sharon and her husband, Bob, moved to Summit County to manage a ranch in the Lower Blue River Valley. They joined FOLBR that fall. Sharon and Bob have successfully bred, trained and shown Belgian Tervuren in Conformation and Performance events. There was a time a few years back that they owned and showed the then Number 1 dog in the breed for 3 consecutive years; he is also the top producer in the history of the breed. Showing him helped Sharon rack up states that she had not previously been in, and about 2 years ago she made it to her 50th state.

George and his wife Kathryn moved to Silverthorne in 2004 after George retired following his 32-year career as a Finance Executive at Ford Motor Company in Michigan. Today, they are fortunate their two daughters and their families also live in Colorado, one in Denver and one in Silverthorne.

Since arriving in Summit County, George has been an active participant with many non-profits and his local HOA, and has enjoyed utilizing his work experience in various board positions. Presently, George is President of the HOA (Eagles Nest Property Homeowners Association) and recently was Chairman of the Lower Blue Planning Commission. He has been a FOLBR board member since 2017.

George’s hobbies include lots of reading, a passion for all things in nature, particularly bird watching and hiking, and maintaining a strong interest in everything going on around him. He is a regular participant in “lego days” and nerf gun battles with his two young grandsons and loves lively dinners and playing cards. He and Kathryn are sure they are “living the dream” in Summit County.

George and Kathryn consider the Blue River and the Lower Blue Valley to be environmental treasures and believe all Summit County property owners and visitors should be encouraged to get involved in their preservation and protection. FOLBR will be a catalyst in achieving this goal.

John D. Hillman, MD, is the President of ACRE (Acorn Creek Ranch Estates) Property Owners Association and has been a Board Member FOLBR since its beginning. John was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but moved to Denver in 1958 to attend the University of Colorado Boulder and then Medical School in Denver. After Med School, John did an internship at Cincinnati General Hospital; his Residency at University of Colorado, Denver; then, worked at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. Afterwards, he started internal medicine practice in the Army at Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, where he stayed in Colorado Springs after discharge from the Army to start private practice, 1974. John practiced internal medicine practice 25 years in Colorado Springs, and then did part-time hospital medicine at Vail Valley Medical Center and St. Anthony Summit Medical Center for 16 years before retiring in 2013.

John lived in Frisco part-time from 1982-1997 and now has a home in Acorn Creek, 10 miles north of Silverthorne. He and his wife Maggie have lived there full-time since 1997.

John’s community interests include improving Fire Safety in the Lower Blue and specifically Acorn Creek, and establishing cell service in the Lower Blue, in the interest of public safety.

His hobbies are long distance bicycle touring, speaking the French language, hiking, skiing, cutting firewood, and spending time with his grandkids and dogs.

Sher Steuben is a life-long resident of Colorado having lived in Grand County most of her life. She was raised near the town of Grand Lake, after marrying her husband Gary they settled in Kremmling where they raised their two sons.

Sher recently retired from Blue Valley Ranch after having worked there for 25 years to enjoy being a Grandmother. Through her years at Blue Valley Ranch she learned the importance of balance between resource integration for conservation, wildlife; land stewardship, and agricultural production, and believes in leaving things better for the next generation. Sher believes in working together in a cooperative atmosphere to bring about positive changes, people from all backgrounds and ideas can come together for the greater good of all.

John Le Coq is the founder and CEO of Fishpond, a Colorado-based fly fishing/outdoor recreation company that builds premium products and uses its profits and customers to support water, fish, and habitat conservation efforts. John is also the founding partner of Case Logic and has been an active advertising and commercial photographer for 35 years. John lives on a working ranch on the western slope of Colorado, where he works to shape the future of Fishpond and protect the habitat and species with whom we share this planet.

Bob Girvin was born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, in 1936. After graduating high school from the Haverford School in 1953, he attended Amherst College. He then manufactured military aircraft landing gear in Chicago from 1961-1972. After moving to Breckenridge in 1972, Bob developed the Beaver Run Resort and was a board member for the resort from 1984-2015. Bob was also the original developer of (NKA) Summit Estates. Bob was a Scoutmaster in Summit from 1972-1973 and a Breckenridge Town Councilman from 1973-1980. Bob’s real estate career includes being an agent at Prudential Timberhill Real Estate from 1972-2013 and an agent at Coldwell Banker Rounds and Porter from 2013-present.

Jim Donlon and his family have enjoyed the full opportunities of the Lower Blue River valley for 22 years while owning and managing Pass Creek Ranch. Initially the Ranch was ‘part-time’, while Jim worked as a financial executive in the automotive industry in Michigan. In 2012 Jim and his wife Sandra moved to Summit County to enjoy the opportunities on a ‘full-time’ basis.

Jim was born in Seattle, Washington and moved every three years as part of a military family. He graduated with business degrees from California State University (Fresno) and the University of Southern California and began financial work at the truck division of Ford Motor Company. He spent most of his career at Chrysler – including the acquisition of Jeep products into Chrysler, and an assignment in Stuttgart Germany with Daimler finance executives.

Jim’s other community interests are management of Pass Creek Ranch and trail patrol for the Friends of the Dillon Ranger District; and his hobbies include hiking, (hobby) photography, adventure travel with the family, ‘ranch camp’ with the grandkids, stock investment analysis and a pet dog named Maggie.